ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday set aside the government job quota scheme for family members of low-grade employees who retire on medical grounds, die during the service or become disabled, declaring the same discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Under the quota scheme, a widow/widower, wife/husband or child of a civil servant in different grades was appointed on a contract or a regular basis, without an open advertisement, competition and merit.

Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, a three-judge bench, also comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, had taken up an appeal by the General Post Office, Islamabad, against the April 13, 2021 Peshawar High Court (PHC) in favour of respondent Mohammad Jalal.

The respondent had sought direction from the PHC to consider him for appointment against the quota reserved for the children of class-IV employees who retired on medical grounds. He also had relied upon the April 13, 2005 office memorandum of Establishment Division whereby guidelines for contract appointments were provided for two years to civil posts under the federal government.

Authorities told to withdraw discriminatory laws; verdict won’t affect those already working

The guidelines had relaxed the condition of open advertisement for the purpose of contractual appointment of widow/widower of one child of a deceased civil servant who dies during service and wife/husband or one child of a serving civil servant who becomes ‘permanently disabled during service’ and takes retirement from service provided that such special dispensation may be allowed only for appointment to posts in BS-10 and below.

Authored by Justice Afghan, the 11-page order explained that the government and public sector employment cannot be allowed to be parcelled out to the functionaries of the state.

“These jobs neither are nor can be made hereditary, the order stated, adding that the constitution stipulated that equal employment and economic opportunities must be provided to all citizens,” the order stated

It said any law, policy or rule was subject to judicial review if it is manifestly inconsistent with the constitutional commands, retrogressive in nature and discriminatory inter se the citizens.

The court struck down the PHC order and held that any law under which widow/widower, wife/husband or child of civil servants — who died during service or become permanently disabled/invalidated/incapacitated for further service and take retirement from service — were appointed are declared to be “discriminatory and ultra vires to Articles 3, 4, 5(2), 18, 25(1) and 27 of the Constitution”.

The court ordered the federal and provincial authorities to withdraw these laws, but clarified that the judgment will not affect the existing employees appointed on the hereditary quota.

The order will also not affect the job and compensation packages of the federal and provincial governments for the heirs of martyred personnel of law enforcement agencies and of civil servants who died in terrorist attacks.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2024